Prognostic Value of PAX-FKHR Fusion Status in Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma: A Report From the Cooperative Soft Tissue Sarcoma Study Group (CWS)

• Background. Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcomas (RMA) are characterized by chromosomal translocations, fusing the PAX3 or PAX7 gene with FKHR in about 85%. Previous studies have suggested that the fusion type is associated with prognosis. In order to investigate the predictive value of the PAX-FKHR fusion status on disease outcome of patients with RMA treated in the CWS trials we performed a retrospective analysis. Procedure. Between 1986 and 2004, out of 446 patients with RMA treated in four consecutive CWS trials, tumor samples from 126 patients were available for RT-PCR analysis. Survival depending on fusion status in context with known clinical risk-factors was analyzed. Results. Out of 126 samples, 121 had adequate quality for PAX-FKHR fusion status analysis. PAX-FKHR fusions were detected in 101 samples: 60% PAX3-FKHR and 24% PAX7-FKHR fusions, 17% were fusion-negative. There was no significant difference in survival between patients with PAX3-FKHR versus PAX7-FKHR positive tumors. The fusion transcript negative cohort showed a more favorable outcome than the fusion transcript positive cohort among patients with metastatic disease. From the established clinical risk-factors none was associated with a significantly higher risk of failure or death in a multivariate analysis. Conclusions. PAX-FKHR fusion type was not a significant predictor for survival in our analysis. Moreextensive molecular analyses are needed to identify features with prognostic relevance and useful therapeutic impact. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2011; 57: 406-414. (C) 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Pediatrik (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Pediatrics (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

PAX-FKHR

prognosis

rhabdomyosarcoma

RT-PCR

translocation

Publikations- och innehållstyp

art (ämneskategori)

ref (ämneskategori)